checkout the BS bolded lines below, these guys are upset that the movie is NOT portraying the human side of the Somoli's. WTF: this movie is not about a walk in the park, its a war. Typical BS you would hear from a liberal, negotiate and compromise. I guess these are the same folks that would like the recent movies such as Pearl Harbor.
==============================================================
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/28/movies/28HAWK.html?homepageinsidebox[/url]
Mission of Mercy Goes Bad in Africa
December 28, 2001
Mission of Mercy Goes Bad in Africa
By ELVIS MITCHELL
Black Hawk Down" has such distinctive visual aplomb that its jingoism
starts to feel like part of its atmosphere. Establishing mood through
pictorial means is the director Ridley Scott's most notable talent. There
may be no working director more accomplished at wringing texture out of
the color blue than the prodigious and now prolific Mr. Scott; you'd swear
that with his dazzling washes of blues and sand tones, he was inventing
additional hues on the spot. Because Mr. Scott's eye delivers so much
information, he then is at a loss to give the material a proper emotional
grounding. "Black Hawk Down" is like Mr. Scott's "G.I. Jane" but this time
with an all-boy cast.
Sam Shepard, as Major General Garrison, seems to be smoking a Montecristo
No. 2 primarily so that billowing clouds of Cuban smoke can register in
the war room; it doesn't help that the cigar has been given as much
characterization as anyone in the movie. There are plot flags visible
beside Old Glory. As in "Pearl Harbor," the battle in "Black Hawk Down" is
an eye-catching misfire, color-coordinated down to the tracer rounds.
The film, whose title refers to downed military helicopters, dramatizes
the failed United States mission to help relieve famine in Mogadishu,
Somalia, late in 1992 by securing supply routes against Somali militias.
Several hundred Somalis and 18 American soldiers lost their lives the next
year in what was called the Battle of the Black Sea. The film was adapted
from the best-selling account by Mark Bowden, which stacked up detail; Mr.
Scott's slathering of visual elements is the pictorial correlative of the
author's work.
The producer Jerry Bruckheimer seems to have been making Ridley Scott
movies his entire career, but this is the first time he and Mr. Scott have
collaborated. Tony Scott, Mr. Ridley's twin brother, teamed with Mr.
Bruckheimer on movies like "Top Gun," the gold — or rather gold-filled —
standard for incoherent militaristic propaganda. "Black Hawk Down" is "Top
Gun" on an all-protein diet. The soldiers, mostly ground troops, are much
leaner than Tom Cruise was in that 1986 film, though they grin just as
righteously.
The movie quickly sketches the broad parameters for the story: American
troops, in Mogadishu as part of a United Nations peacekeeping effort, plan
to kidnap members of the inner circle of Gen. Muhammad Farah Aidid, the
Somali warlord. Lean, lissome white soldiers with teeth pearlier than
their eyes prowl the streets looking to do damage — all except sad-eyed
Sergeant Eversmann (Josh Hartnett), who smiles shyly and says he wants to
make a difference. The vibrating melancholy of Hans Zimmer's score
communicates the futility of Eversmann's proclamation. And when two
helicopters are brought down and the mission is converted into a rescue,
things get worse than anyone could have imagined.

"Black Hawk Down" wants to be about something, and in the midst of the
meticulously staged gunfire, the picture seems to choose futility
arbitrarily. The handsomely staged gunplay and explosions, rigorously
matched to exacting Dolby Digital in selected theaters, abound, while a
cast of non-American actors like Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana and Orlando
Bloom try out their Yankee soldier accents, with vowels so oddly
enunciated that you expect them to be singled out as foreign spies. Again,
Mr. Scott spot-welds his extraordinary painterly application of talent to
video game detachment; his "Gladiator" looked like a Playstation 2 product
designed by Bruegel. [b]But the mercilessness here is gruesome.
In "Black Hawk Down," the lack of characterization converts the Somalis
into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the
Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not,
it reeks of glumly staged racism. The only African-American with lines,
Specialist Kurth (Gabriel Casseus), is one of the American soldiers who
want to get into the middle of the action; his lines communicate his
simplistic gung-ho spirit. His presence in this military action raises
questions of racial imbalance that "Black Hawk Down" couldn't even be
bothered to acknowledge, let alone answer.[/b]

To make some obvious points about Western interests in oil, this picture
imitates a few scenes in David O. Russell's remarkable 1999 war picture
"Three Kings," where the context was not sacrificed to politics. In "Black
Hawk Down," though, the backhanded attempt to provide the most minimal of
contexts seems glib, as does Mr. Scott's skillful and facile handling of
the action sequences, which supply an undeniably visceral excitement.
The actors are mostly called upon for the kind of "it's a man's man's
man's man's world" sloganeering before heading off to fight that
characterizes most Bruckheimer films: dated martial wisecracks of the
"Let's rock 'n' roll" variety. (When Sean Connery coughed, "Good to go" in
"The Rock," it was the death knell of hip-hop as we know it.)
It's tiring to watch the actors, many of whom have appeared spouting these
lines in previous Bruckheimer productions, doing the same thing; they're
like rowdy guys who were left behind in Movie Star High School. This
unintentional repetition fits, since sitting through the accomplished but
meaningless "Black Hawk Down" is like being trapped in an action film
version of "Groundhog Day," condemned to sit through the same carnage over
and over.
"Black Hawk Down" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or
adult guardian) for a barrage of violence, dismemberment and mayhem, and
the usual accompanying panicked strong language.
BLACK HAWK DOWN
Directed by Ridley Scott; written by Ken Nolan, based on the book with
that title by Mark Bowden; director of photography, Slawomir Idziak;
edited by Pietro Scalia; music by Hans Zimmer; production designer, Arthur
Max; produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Mr. Scott; released by Columbia
Pictures. Running time: 143 minutes. This film is rated R.
WITH: Josh Hartnett (Eversmann), Ewan McGregor (Grimes), Tom Sizemore
(McKnight), Eric Bana (Hoot), William Fichtner (Sanderson), Ewen Bremner
(Nelson), Sam Shepard (Garrison), Gabriel Casseus (Kurth), Kim Coates
(Wex), Hugh Dancy (Schmid), Ron Eldard (Durant), Ioan Gruffudd (Beales),
Thomas Guiry (Yurek), Charlie Hofheimer (Smith), Danny Hoch (Pilla), Jason
Isaacs (Steele), Zeljko Ivanek (Harrell), Glenn Morshower (Matthews),
Jeremy Piven (Wolcott), Brendan Sexton III (Kowalewski), Johnny Strong
(Shughart), Richard Tyson (Busch) and Orlando Bloom (Blackburn).
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

In "Black Hawk Down," the lack of characterization converts the Somalis
into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the
Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not,
it reeks of glumly [b][size=6]staged[/size=6][/b] racism.
What a fucking idiot.

"Shooting an AR-10 is kind of like driving a vintage "muscle car", you don't necessarily need all that power, but it sure is fun to have and drive."

. But the mercilessness here is gruesome.
In "Black Hawk Down," the lack of characterization converts the Somalis
into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the
Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not,
it reeks of glumly staged racism.

View Quote

I rarely loose my temper on any forum....BUT GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKER.. what the hell did he think it was when Staff Sergeant Cleveland, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart were disgraced and dragged in the streets by the Somalis...
I´m at a loss of of words to describe this idiot...

Originally Posted By Halfcocked:
In "Black Hawk Down," the lack of characterization converts the Somalis
into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the
Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not,
it reeks of glumly staged racism.
What a fucking idiot.

View Quote

Idiot, maybe. But he's probably just mirroring his own point of view, since he is not only liberal, but, despite his given name, he is also black.....
Elvis is a house fixture as TV critic on NPR. His review of BHD is standard issue Elvis, no surprises here. Consider the source, and consider his employer and audience.

piccolo's sister, on life in Massachusetts: "Yeah, it's great living here. You never have to grow up here. Everything is always someone else's fault."

This movie should be reviewed by historians and not pasty-faced, tea-totaling pecker-woods.It is apparent that this garbage was written from somebody who immediately forgot that EVERYTHING is this movie actually happened and wasn't staged for the benefits of theatrical dramatization when it did happen. Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimerv went to great lenghts to make this movie as factually true to the real thing as possible. Thank God.
It's hard to be politically correct with bullets buzzing about your head. It's certainly simple to do so behind a desk in NYC.
I can't wait till this movie comes out.

"Elvis Mitchell was recently appointed to the prestigious position of film critic for the New York Times. Mitchell previously reviewed films for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and the Detroit Free Press. For the last 15 years, he also has been an entertainment critic for "Weekend Edition with Scott Simon" on National Public Radio. He was also host of the film-related interview program "The Treatment" for KCRW, Santa Monica-Calif.'s public radio station, and the host of the Independent Film Channel's "Independent Focus" program. In addition, Mitchell has written on movies for Rolling Stone, GQ, and Interview magazines."
[img]http://www.allstarcharity.com/lib/allstarcharity/emitchell.gif[/img]

"Ammo will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no ammo..."

I read the book, and really liked the book (the battle affected me even more than my prior ultimate CF, 'We Were Soldiers Once')
That made me want to avoid the movie so as not to spoil the book.
After reading this crap from the libs I need to see this film. I even tried to find it online, only to learn about the flyoverland delay.

Hey Black Elvis, sorry it offended you, but you remind me of all those people calling Episode I: The Phantom Menace racist. Remember? Liberal reviewers were so completely imbued with race-consciousness and political correctness, they were calling SPACE ALIENS in that movie stereotypes of Asians, blacks, and Jews. It just never ends, and they can't realize how ridiculous they sound.
I was honestly expecting movie reviewers to call "Lord of the Rings" racist because there weren't any blacks or latinos or asians. I was pleasantly disappointed.
If you don't like a movie, just say so. But don't call it "racist" (when it isn't) because you just further trivialize the true meaning of that word.
And another thing: he's po'd they showed the Somalis as a nameless black mob? What would Elvis prefer? To have the rangers get out and meet every individual Somali? Get to know them on a first-name basis? Last time I checked, the movie was about the Americans, not the hostile Somalis. Sheesh.

His presence in this military action raises questions of racial imbalance that "Black Hawk Down" couldn't even be
bothered to acknowledge, let alone answer.

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What as ass! This guy is an idiot! Remember how "whitey" was critisized for the high black casualty rates in the Vietnam War? There were too many "black" infantry deaths?? Now this schmuck seems to be saying just the opposite.

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."H. L. Mencken

Man this is the real world. People die in wars. The recent Pearl Harbor movie is actually a love story, but was advertised as a war movie. If you want to see what REALLY happened in war this isn't movie for you. What do those people want the mighty USMC to do, give the Somalis a lollipop? The marines are paid to crack some heads and break some legs in the interest of the USA.
For official Blackhawk Down book website
[url]http://www.philly.com/packages/somalia/nov16/default16.asp[/url]
For official Blackhawk Down movie website
[url]http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/blackhawkdown/[/url]

[b]"but you remind me of all those people calling Episode I: The Phantom Menace racist. Remember?[/b]
Actually, The Phantom Menace did indeed have plenty of racial stereotypes, even if it wasn't overtly racist.
OTOH, this puke's review seals it for me. I'm definitely going to see the movie — just as soon as it comes to my favorite dollar theater...

Do you think this joker read the book? Do you think he knows about his papers best seller list? Do you think this fellow is a TV, movie potato chip munching freak. Do you think he knows that the book became a military text?
I think his newspapers registration locked website stinks.
I think the liberal press stinks.
I find better venues for news than that politrash.

I went to the NY Times signed up and posted my comments on their web board. I will send this snail mail to have it published. In the mean time, here it is:
Just read Elvis Mitchell's article concerning "Black Hawk Down", matter of fact here is his quote,
" But the mercilessness here is gruesome. In "Black Hawk Down," the lack of characterization converts the Somalis into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not, it reeks of glumly staged racism. The only African-American with lines, Specialist Kurth (Gabriel Casseus), is one of the American soldiers who want to get into the middle of the action; his lines communicate his simplistic gung-ho spirit. His presence in this military action raises questions of racial imbalance that "Black Hawk Down" couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge, let alone answer."
You sir, are an idiot. What do you think this movie is about? A feel good, wishy washy, heart warming story of kinsmenship?
This movie is about war. Young men, predominately white in a African country, who have to become down right brutal to order to make it out alive.
You have no concept of what being in a tight knit group who have to so utterly rely on each other, that the bonds of friendship become cemented in death and the fear of dying. It is evident, you have no concept of a military enviroment and what going to war is. Why not stick to making your stupid comments to movies like "Babe" or "Steel Magnolias" or even "Fried Green Tomatoes".
American boys bled and died for a screwed up mission that our country placed at their feet. They did what it took to come home and not leave any of their Ranger Buddies behind. Not only did this country give them a screwed up mission but our lame president, at the time, refused to give them the support that was needed to walk away with next to no KIA's. Oh by the way, who were the ones, who hacked up American servicemen and then dragged them through the streets to have captured on CNN. Then to have it broadcasted and have the wife of one of those men see it before it was actually known what was happening. You need to go see what being a Ranger is all about. These are men and boys who train hard for missions and when given the opportunity, most of the live for the moment.
You make me sick. I pity you as you waller in your own self preceived brightness. You are more concerned with political correctness than the accuracy of a real world mission.
I pray this finds it's way to your desk. Better yet, I hope to have this published in the Ed section, just so people will realize, what an idiot you are.

Originally Posted By raven:
Hey Black Elvis, sorry it offended you, but you remind me of all those people calling Episode I: The Phantom Menace racist. Remember? Liberal reviewers were so completely imbued with race-consciousness and political correctness, they were calling SPACE ALIENS in that movie stereotypes of Asians, blacks, and Jews. It just never ends, and they can't realize how ridiculous they sound.

View Quote

I actually thought the same thing about Episode 1 when I was watching it. It is pretty overt and blatant. I just didn't see it as a bad thing.
As far as Elvis's review, I can't friggen wait to see this movie. I love his ability to ignore history for the sake of racism. I have no problem with him brining it up because it only serves as another example of the liberal agenda and just makes them look like asses.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at yourside, kid.

Originally Posted By Noname:
"Elvis Mitchell was recently appointed to the prestigious position of film critic for the New York Times. Mitchell previously reviewed films for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and the Detroit Free Press. For the last 15 years, he also has been an entertainment critic for "Weekend Edition with Scott Simon" on National Public Radio. He was also host of the film-related interview program "The Treatment" for KCRW, Santa Monica-Calif.'s public radio station, and the host of the Independent Film Channel's "Independent Focus" program. In addition, Mitchell has written on movies for Rolling Stone, GQ, and Interview magazines."
[img]http://www.allstarcharity.com/lib/allstarcharity/emitchell.gif[/img]

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I was thinking either a liberal, bed wetting Jew or a Black. Seems my experience has given me a sixth sense about these things.
These people will deny the truth, lie, whatever it takes to further their agenda. I distinctly remember those savages dragging the bodies of our soldiers through the streets, laughing, multilating the bodies as the went.
Mr. Elvis is just another dishonest liberal attempting to rewrite history to put a good light on those black warlords and their followers. Why would he bother? Only because they're black.

"Okay, but I'm not good at details, or the big picture. I also show up late, and drunk. I've got a good feeling about this."- Homer Simpson

Originally Posted By Canooger:
Do you think this joker read the book? Do you think he knows about his papers best seller list? Do you think this fellow is a TV, movie potato chip munching freak. Do you think he knows that the book became a military text?

View Quote

Do you think he even knows which end of the tube the round comes out of?
Of course not. He's a POS that obviously has no respect for the ultimate sacrifice those Rangers and SF troopers made over there. F*** him and his ilk.
Edited to say: I can't wait to see it

A black hippy crackhead. The worst people in the world to ask about matters related to war, honor, courage and death. However, if you want to get in touch with your feminine side, he can help.
An intellectual point of view helps one achieve a perspective on life, but intellectuals sometimes have great difficulty with matters requiring a perception of reality. This one is an shining example of that.

The part that really, I mean [b]REALLY[/b] pisses me off is that he calls it "staged".
The fucking punk was probably still shitting in his own diapers when when a US Soldier was [b]ACUALLY[/b] dragged naked through the streats of Somolia. He dosen't even know that this is history, not STAGED!
I'm just so fucking pissed I'm spitting all over my key board and blood is dripping from my eyes.

"Shooting an AR-10 is kind of like driving a vintage "muscle car", you don't necessarily need all that power, but it sure is fun to have and drive."

Of course he didn't read the book. A Rag by that title would have given him strange looks in the coffee house! People like this only read when it looks cool- in a coffee house with the appropriate $5 Latte.

Hold on guys! Save your rants for someone who is worthy of receiving them.
This article is a surprise? A VERY liberal media critic...with some, shall we say rather skewed views on the world at large writes this stuff and you are outraged? Not me. I fully expect 90% of the major media outlets to pan this movie in some way. Those of you who served especially...remember what your thoughts were when you saw Saving PVT Ryan? Best damn movie of it's type EVER. Clearly the leader for the Oscar...NOT. My wife saw all of the major chick flics that year (I damn well didn't go though!). As soon as it was released on DVD, I purchased Ryan, she watched it, she admitted that it was clearly better than the chick flic that won (Elizabeth or Shakespear or something like that?), but she also said she was stunned at the violence in Ryan and very uncomfortable seeing it. Think this writer is any different?
This phrase from his piece says it all as far as I'm concerned: "...incoherent militaristic propaganda."
Take a slow easy read of this drivel and consider the mind of the "person" who wrote it. Trust me...picking up a rifle and standing a rampart just ain't him.
Silly article...written by a guy with an agenda. He would have been much happier rating a chick flic that something with all this violence and blood.
On the other hand, it will do well in the copy room and with the liberal denizens of the City.
Who cares though?
[soapbox]

Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.---Anon

. But the mercilessness here is gruesome.
In "Black Hawk Down," the lack of characterization converts the Somalis
into a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts, gleefully pulling the
Americans from their downed aircraft and stripping them. Intended or not,
it reeks of glumly staged racism.

View Quote

I rarely loose my temper on any forum....BUT GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKER.. what the hell did he think it was when Staff Sergeant Cleveland, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart were disgraced and dragged in the streets by the Somalis...
I´m at a loss of of words to describe this idiot...

View Quote

Tukka - I couldn't agree more. If Elvis Mitchell were trapped on the ground with the Somalies when all hell broke loose, I am of the opinion that he would probably view them as "a pack of snarling dark-skinned beasts". Especially after they killed several of his buddies and drug some of them through the streets like frigging animals would do.

I apologize for the foul language in my previous posts.
Rarely do I get to a point where I feal overwhelmed with the uncontrolable urge to to choke the living shit out of someone with my bare hands, but every time I see the smug grin on the stupid assholes face I have that fealing in spades.
(No racial nuances intended.)

"Shooting an AR-10 is kind of like driving a vintage "muscle car", you don't necessarily need all that power, but it sure is fun to have and drive."

Couldn't have said it better myself.
I grabbed BHD in the airport bookstore as a last minute time-waster as I flew from Seattle to LA last year. Suffice to say, I couldn't put it down, and I'm eagerly awaiting the film.
The sooner Joe Public learns about Klinton's TRUE legacy, the better.

Originally Posted By mr_bungle:
The author managed to wait a full 11 words before using "jingoism." I'm actually impressed at such obviously tortured restraint - especially for the NYT of today.

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I can usually size up an author as a stuck up, liberally educated beyond their intelligence, never had to pay middle class taxes, passes other people's hard earned knowledge as their own, egotistical, elitest, communist scumbag by the inclusion of one of several words in their writings:
1. Jingoism
2. Troglodyte
3. Banter
4. [sic]
There are plain English ways of saying all of the above. They use crap like this to infer that they actually learned something for all the money they spent on their degrees and to send their audiences scrambling for dictionaries.
OOH! Elitism by vocabulary! Exactly the same tactic used by every insecure group searching for an identity.

I think the editor of the Times needs to be enlightened and schooled about what real Americans think of the one sided garbage his worthless employee is wasting good paper with. Wonder how much combat experience he has??
Movie or not, that POS doesn't rate to write about the Military or it's actions period!!!
Tell the editor of the Times what you think about the article!!! [url]letters@nytimes.com[/url]
Semper-Fi Do or Die!! 03 out [sniper]

Originally Posted By mr_bungle:
The author managed to wait a full 11 words before using "jingoism." I'm actually impressed at such obviously tortured restraint - especially for the NYT of today.

View Quote

I can usually size up an author as a stuck up, liberally educated beyond their intelligence, never had to pay middle class taxes, passes other people's hard earned knowledge as their own, egotistical, elitest, communist scumbag by the inclusion of one of several words in their writings:
1. Jingoism
2. Troglodyte
3. Banter
4. [sic]
There are plain English ways of saying all of the above. They use crap like this to infer that they actually learned something for all the money they spent on their degrees and to send their audiences scrambling for dictionaries.
OOH! Elitism by vocabulary! Exactly the same tactic used by every insecure group searching for an identity.

View Quote

1. Jingoism - Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism
2. Troglodyte -
1. A member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people that lived in caves, dens, or holes.
A person considered to be reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish.
2. An anthropoid ape, such as a gorilla or chimpanzee.
An animal that lives underground, as an ant or a worm.
3. Banter - Good-humored, playful conversation

I thought that the movie was "supposed" to be politically corrected downward..Now I'm glad that it pisses off the liberals! I'm definitley gonna see it, then buy it on DVD.
New York Times...pretty much, sums up "liberal" thought in America. Nothing new.
And for Elvis...if you're black and offended,just call it racism. It works every time.
I guess they should have made "white" Somali's in the film. Blond haired,blue-eyed devils...yep.
The film was made...it will be seen...and it will be a box office hit. Truth and reality win again.
F the liberals...they never have solutions, only problems and "causes".
We win again,
[b][blue]NAKED[/blue][/b]

"What is odd is to have a president so convinced of his own magnificence -- yet not of his own country's.' Charles Krauthammer

It would seem that most of the media cannot understand the military or guns. I learn something every time I turn CNN on. Today I learned that Army Special Forces in Afganistan carry Semi-automatic weapons.This according to Walter Rodgers. Wow! CNN obviously has something to teach me. The thing that pisses me off is that while I know the truth, most people will believe what they are told. Too many people are going to listen to Elvis and believe every word he says, because thay don't know better.

Originally Posted By Who_Me:
Has anyone found Mitchell's E-mail address yet?

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It's unlisted. If you send a blank e-mail to staff@nytimes.com, they'll send you an automated response listing the e-mail addresses of those employees you choose to make their e-mail address public. Elvis is not one of them, for obvious reasons.
He sits in his little office spewing out his garbage, but isn't man enough to list his e-mail so people can dispute his BS. What a coward.

"Okay, but I'm not good at details, or the big picture. I also show up late, and drunk. I've got a good feeling about this."- Homer Simpson